1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to programmable logic devices (PLDs) and more particularly to improved routing in PLDs having subarrays of configurable logic block tiles.
2. Related Art
Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are well known in the art of PLDs. An FPGA typically includes an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) that are programmably interconnected to each other to provide logic functions desired by a user. The architecture of some FPGAs may be described as including "tiles", wherein each tile includes a CLB as well as a portion of an interconnect structure. "The 1998 Programmable Logic Data Book", pages 4-225 to 4-241, published by Xilinx, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., describes such a tile architecture as provided in the XC5200.TM. FPGA family, and is incorporated by reference herein.
To increase the complexity and size of the logic functions provided by an FPGA, the number of CLBs can be increased. However, this increase in CLBs then requires proportionately more interconnect structure. A common way of providing more interconnect structure is to add more wiring. Unfortunately, adding wiring significantly decreases silicon efficiency because each tile must provide worst case (i.e. maximum) interconnect resources, thereby making each tile larger and more complex. This increase in size and complexity at the tile level in turn increases the size, complexity, and ultimately cost of the FPGA.
One way of overcoming these disadvantages is to divide the tiles of the FPGA into a plurality of arrays (also called subarrays herein) and provide added routing channels between the arrays to interconnect the arrays. An FPGA architecture having a plurality of arrays of tiles is referred to herein as a window pane architecture because it resembles a large glass window divided into a plurality of smaller window panes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,525, issued to Ho et al. on Oct. 3, 1995, discloses such an architecture. In addition, Lucent sells an Optimized Reconfigurable Cell Array (ORCA) FPGA which has a window pane architecture.
FIG. 1 illustrates an FPGA 10 having a window pane architecture including four arrays 12. In this embodiment, each array 12 includes a 7.times.7 array of tiles 15. Vertical and horizontal routing channels 14 are provided between arrays 12. The wiring in routing channels 14, which extends the full length of the FPGA, provides hierarchial routing in FPGA 10. Specifically, the wiring included in routing channels 14 (also called long lines) is coupled to other interconnect and CLBs (neither shown) in tiles 15 located adjacent routing channels 14. Therefore, such long lines can become heavily loaded with multiple potential connections to numerous tiles and thus become incapable of driving all connections to proper levels without buffers. Furthermore, such long lines are inherently highly capacitive and thus slow, thereby causing timing problems which can be critical to overall FPGA performance.
Therefore, a need arises for a window pane architecture which overcomes the noted deficiencies of the prior art.